Congress to douse Seemandhra fires with package, sops

NGO leaders and activists staging a dharna in front of the sub-collector’s office in Vijayawada against the government’s decision to invoke ESMA. | express photo

Even as Seemandhra continues to witness protests over division of Andhra Pradesh, details of the fine print being worked out by Delhi are slowly coming out.

Some senior leaders belonging to Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have reportedly been informed that the Centre is contemplating to announce a package of Rs 10,000 crore per annum for building a capital and to develop backward areas in Seemandhra over a period of 10-15 years. Apart from this, various tax concessions are also expected to be given to facilitate fresh investments to spur industrial and IT growth.

Simultaneously, some more concessions in regard to the status of Hyderabad as a joint capital are also being discussed. While the CWC has already recommended that Hyderabad be kept as a joint capital for at least 10 years, it is likely that it could be extended by five more years. The Seemandhra leaders are said to be suggesting that the bill should have a clause which says Hyderabad will be the joint capital for “as long as it is required”, but it is still not clear if the Centre would accede to that request. That law and order in the limits of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will be brought under the domain of the Centre is now more or less certain. Hinting at things to come, Telangana leaders of Congress, who met here on Sunday ahead of their visit to Delhi, said they have no objection to such a proposal.

There is also a demand that apart from law and order, important subjects like revenue should be kept under a neutral cadre drawn from both the new states, but the feasibility of it is still being examined.

Sources also indicated that the proposal to merge Kurnool and Anantapur districts with Hyderabad has not been shelved as yet, but a final call would be taken depending on how things unfold over the next few weeks. If it is going to help weaken the protests outside Telangana and in the event of all elected representatives from the two districts accepting it, it could still fructify.

Though for public posturing, Seemandhra leaders are still chanting the “united Andhra Pradesh” slogan, what they are expecting from Delhi is a face-saving formula that would help them face people back in their constituencies.

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